Red Dead Redemption 2, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Dracula—what do these things have in common? We've been up to them, that's what! Join us as we discuss cowboy oppression, the completely normal "dating a fairy" rite of passage, and the uniquely Victorian ability to drone on and on.

What Missy's Been Up To

Playing:

Red Dead Redemption 2

Reading:

Dracula by Bram StokerThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Cocaine crucifixes, 27-year-old teens, and the decadence of the elite—it's time to discuss 1999's absolutely buckwild Cruel Intentions! Join us as we examine the cultural context of the late 90s, the intentions of the author (who is occasionally dead), and why a movie about horrible people being awful to one another is still so much fun.

At long last, Missy's life has settled down enough to allow her to do things... for fun? Merri shares her spicy thoughts on Stranger Things, Missy goes off about Red Dead Redemption 2 despite it not being one of her things, and we both shower some love on Mccafferty.

Sing in me, Muse, of the importance of translation, the importance of nuance, and the original scoundrel: Odysseus. That's right, we're talking about The Odyssey! Join us as we discuss Emily Wilson's new translation in conversation with Madeline Miller's Circe and Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad.

We took a week off so we could do The Odyssey justice. Instead, we're bringing you a second episode of our eventual new podcast: Stay Posi, Emo Kid, a short(ish) podcast debating hot questions about emo!

Do you love romance? Do you love romances as embodiments of different modes of patriarchy? Then do we have a book series for you! In this episode, we tackle Tamora Pierce's The Woman Who Rides Like a Man and Lioness Rampant, the final two books in the Song of the Lioness quartet, and grapple with the problems of a beloved series, including how they affect its modern relevance.

Warning: There's no cursing, but there are frequent mentions of sex and sexuality. Also a lot of immaturity, sorry.

Cross-dressing, examinations of the necessity of violence, and the unfortunate consequences of second-wave feminism? That's right, we're talking about the Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce! In this first entry, we're talking about Alanna: The First Adventure and In the Hand of the Goddess, books one and two of the series that started the beloved Tortall universe.

Warning: Some mentions of genitalia. No explicit content, just mentions.

While we're off on vacation, we thought we'd leave you with a little idea we've been kicking around—a positive debate podcast about emo. When we say emo, we mean inclusively; pop punk, old-school emo, midwest emo, and so on are all fair game.

In this first episode, we're talking about the emo bands that had the biggest impact on us as teenagers. We each nominated three bands and picked one for each of us, plus one ruling champion—the band most emblematic of the mid-2000s, when we were teenagers.

We hope you enjoy this while we're frolicking through Disneyland. If you do, let us know—we'd love to make it a (semi-) regular thing, because once you start one podcast you just can't stop.

Time for some good ol' existential crises as we dive into Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the second adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa's hit manga series. Join us as we figure out what a human is, debate whether alchemy is magic or science, and attempt to explain Judith Butler without taking six hours.

Warnings: We say 'pissed' once and there's some brief mentions of Winry's increasing chest size.

Lick it up, baby, because we're taking a closer look at 1989's Heathers, a cult film dissecting the cold, calculating dark side of humanity (and the Reagan era). We also take a little jaunt into the disastrous television adaptation and the extremely catch music to ask the nagging question, "Does Heathers have any relevance today?"

Warning: In addition to swearing, this episodes contains references to suicide, sexual assault, eating disorders, and school violence.

Beauty is truth, truth beauty, and also unicorns. Welcome to our discussion of Peter S. Beagle's classic The Last Unicorn, in which we also bring in Keats and Plato because there's layers upon layers upon layers to this story, and we want to devour them like a delicious, buttery croissant.

Warning: While there's nothing extremely explicit, early on we make references to a tree's giant breasts and phallic shape. Just, you know. Normal things. Merri also says that Molly is "pissed off."